A France tour director clued me in to this. A man has a terrific web site with more information on Paris than I've seen anyplace else. It's in the form of a book and looks to me to have all you need to know. He also answers personal e-mails to give you any help you need. His name is Fred and his web site is www.anamericaninparis.com

Ouch! Not that can of worms!

Steve, if you are indeed a real person, I suggest you review the "no advertising" policy on the terms for this forum. That is a for-profit business you have advertised and he charges to answer questions. I personally think his "book" is not very good at all, the information is limited, out of date, and of amateurish quality and content. I question any "France tour director" recommending it. I do not believe you. If that is the most information on Paris you have ever seen, you have not seen much. Any professional guidebook (eg, Michelin, Cadogan, Access, etc) has more information and many online FREE websites do also, of superior content and quality (www.paris.org, www.jack-travel.com for two). That site you think is so great could not operate as an independent guidebook as it has no maps, no history, and really very little content compared to good guidebooks.<BR><BR>Periodically, fictional people advertise this web site on this forum. One also claimed to be from California, a woman, I think, who unfortunately got her stories mixed up in two diff. posts as to how she supposedly ran across this web site--her sn was "sema" and one story of hers was that a teacher in an eve. class told her about it, and another story was she ran across it in a travel article in a newspaper. Given you are advertising for Fred for free, is he waiving his fee for you? I'm sorry if you are a real person (although I still disagree vehemently with your assessment of that site), but as I said, there have been other fictional posts on here advertising that web site. I also find it very suspicious that you do not mention his fee.

He's also a frequent poster on this forum.

Sorry – I'm new to all this and didn't realize I was advertising, thought I was just recommending. But I'll tell you this – I've read a lot of posts by Fred and I'd much rather read his posts (and his book) and learn things than a lot of other posts which are insulting, derogatory, and don't seem to offer anybody anything.

I'm assuming that Steve is a real person (I'm sure he'll be glad to know that, too!), and if that's the case, he's definitely "recommending", not advertising. Unless, of course, he's Fred. But nothing in his post suggests that to me. We all have the right to agree or disagree, but as far as I can see, he's simply recommending something that he found helpful-- and that's what we all do here. We all recommend other companies and businesses that are for-profit because we've found them helpful in our travels. So if Steve found Fred's site helpful, then that's great that he shared it. And if someone else doesn't like it, it's good to hear that opinion, too. But I don't think it's fair to call Steve's post advertising.

Original post: Wow, great Paris site<BR> Author: Steve ([email protected])<BR>Date: 05/13/2002, 12:55 pm<BR>Message: A France tour director clued me in to this.<BR> <BR><BR>I see Fred's been a busy boy, writing ads for his website. Where does he get that information? From posts here and at the AOL site. He just retypes them, but not all of them. Don't believe me? Just ask for help and he'll send you a note offering his services that only costs you $10. Even "Europe for Dummies" is more useful.

Gee, forget the whole thing. I'm sorry I mentioned it. I've only been reading the boards for a week or so but I see people recommending hotels, restaurants, guide books, shuttle services, all money making propositions and I haven't seen anybody object. I think www.anamericaninparis.com is a terrific web site, and Fred didn't charge anything for the help he gave me. He asks for $10 to buy his book, not to help you and answer your questions. It's all anonymous so he doesn't know who sent the $10. He answers anyone's questions. How much does Patricia Wells charge for her book? How much does Fodors charge for their book? And they don't answer questions and give you personal help like he does. He helped us with specific medical help in Paris, something I couldn't find anyplace, before he told me about his book. But as I said - forget the whole thing. I'll stay off this board.

Steve: No need to stay off this site. Innocent mistake. Fred's site is pathetic, and he is a panderer, but how would you know that? It seems good enough and innocent enough for a first-timer. That's how he lures his customers. You gotta be innocent to follow Fred. He has stolen all the best info from people all over the internet and combined it in his own site, without attribution. But the spelling mistakes alone on his site show he really doesn't know what he's talking about. Anyone who spends $10 for his info is a fool - there are FAR better sites for info on Paris for FREE on the internet. Spending $10 for Fred's dubious information is not worth it. Consult the guidebooks and use this site, and you'll get all the information you need. And Steve, don't be so naive...Fred is a scam artist. They abound on the internet, and he's got the corner on the Paris market.

He has stolen all the best info from people all over the internet and combined it in his own site, without attribution.&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;. Spending $10 for Fred's dubious information is not worth it. Consult the guidebooks and use this site, and you'll get all the information you need. &gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;Fred is a scam artist. They abound on the internet, and he's got the corner on the Paris market.<BR><BR><BR>Steve, you hit a nerve with this topic because so many trusted this guy who was profitting while claiming not to. I don't think ghe took the best from people. I think he took what he wanted so he could lead people to places that pay him. Some of the comments at his website are years old or just wrong. He doesn't have a corner on the Paris market, there are other recommendations for places that secretly tip the poster. But he is the most flagrant profiter as he acts like a friendly guy just tryng to help you out.

Such venom. What did Fred ever do to you?